All Things Butterflies!

Although many of you are reaching your last few days of the school year, I thought I'd share a fun and easy activity with you in case you're looking for a few last minute projects.  Check out these fun and easy hand print artic butterflies!

First, have students put their painted hands down on paper, cut the hand prints out when dry, and write their artic words on the fingers/wings.  Then, just cut a circle head, oval body, grab some googly eyes, and attach two pipe clean antennae.  Beautiful artic butterfly masterpieces!!

If you need a few more butterfly activities to complete your "ensemble", here are a few activities that I have available at my TpT store!

Butterfly Categories
This 27-page activity includes 78 convergent naming cards and 78 divergent naming cards that target both concrete and abstract categories.  Students take turns drawing convergent naming cards and determining the category that the items belong to or drawing divergent naming cards and stating items that belong to the category.

You can grab this activity HERE!

Butterfly Analogies

This 36-page activity includes: 

24 object : function analogies, 

 

24 object : synonym analogies, 

24 object: antonym analogies, 

24 part : whole analogies, 

and 24 object : category analogies.

Students take turns drawing cards, determining the relationship between the first comparison and then generating a word to complete the second comparison.

You can find this activity HERE!

You can also "like" my facebook page in order to stay up-to-date with freebies and other fun giveaways HERE!

Last, but not least, you can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below to win a copy of "Butterfly Analogies"!

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{Review} Tell Tale by Blue Orange Games

Here's a review of another great product, called Tell Tale, by Blue Orange Games.

General Overview
Tell Tale is designed for ages five-adult and can be used with 1-8 players.  It includes 120 picture cards, highlighting characters, settings, objects, and emotions, that can be used to create and retell stories!  Tell Tale can be used to target language, listening, creativity, and self expression.

A Speech and Language Perspective
Obviously, from a speech and language standpoint, this game is awesome for targeting story telling.  However, I used this activity for articulation and also included additional ways to use this product.

*Articulation - I have a few older elementary students who are working on carryover of their speech sounds.  Although we often work with their academic material, Tell Tale provided a great and fun break!  Specifically, one of the groups worked on carryover of the /r/ sound.  In this example, the story about this set of pictures was, "There once was a man named Peter who wrote a letter. When he was done with the letter, he had a party and served hamburgers.  Then, he took a vacation to a warm place."  Tons of /r/s in just one sentence!!

Here are a few other "out of the box" ways to use this product:

*Syntax - By presenting one picture card at a time, students can work on syntax skills in short sentences.

*Grammar - Target a variety of different grammar skills (pronouns, verbs, etc) by making short sentences about each picture.

*Attributes - Played like "I Spy", spread 4-6 object pictures out on the table.  The therapist or students can give 2-3 clues about an object based on its attributes and then the others can guess which object the person is describing.

*Sentence Repetition - The therapist can break the story up into individual sentences and then the students can repeat sentences of varying length.

What I Love Most About This Product
Any product that can be used with multiple grades and to target multiple goal areas is a great product in my book.  Furthermore, any product that my students see as a "game" is even better in my book.  This activity hits both of these areas!  The pictures are bright and vivid.  This activity had no problem holding my student's attention since the stories often became pretty silly and there were lots of giggles!

Where To Find This Product
You can find this great product HERE at Blue Orange Games!!

GREAT OFFER!!
In honor of ASHA's Better Hearing and Speaking Month, Blue Orange will send a free copy of the game Flapz to interested therapists at the end of May. Blue Orange Games has would like to invite OTs and SLPs to subscribe to their therapist list so they can take advantage of this offer and future opportunities. You can take advantage of this opportunity by clicking on this link!!

Disclosure statement: Word Nerd Speech Teach was provided with a copy of this game for review.  No other compensation was provided.

{Review} Vocabulary Development and Narrative Assessments by Smart Speech Therapy and a Giveaway!!!

I was so excited when Tatyana at Smart Speech Therapy LLC asked me to review a few of her products!  She provides comprehensive resources with extensively researched and easy to read information.

First up, is "Vocabulary Development: Working with Disadvantaged Populations".

This 18-page packet includes: 

- reasons why vocabulary should be considered as a therapy goal, 

- limitations of poor readers, 

- components of a strong vocab program, 

- groups of children that are at risk, 

- ways to explicitly teach vocabulary, 

- a structural routine for vocabulary, 

- word learning strategies, 

- tips for older non-readers.  

What I loved most about this pack are:

* the simple tips that it offers to educators to improve vocabulary development, 

* specifically refraining from "dumbing down" our own vocabulary.  

* the step by step "explicit vocabulary instruction" portion of this powerpoint.

If you'd like to check out this great product, you can do so HERE!

Next up, is "Narrative Assessments of Preschool and School Aged Children".

This 73-page packet includes:
- reasons to assess narrative abilities,
- a list of story telling features, types of narratives,
- explanations for a series of standardized/normed tests that assess narratives (Renfrew Bus Story, The Strong Narrative Assessment Procedure, Test of Narrative Language, Narrative Assessment Protocol, and Narrative Language Measures),
- advantages for informal narrative assessment,
- ways to elicit fictional narratives,
- narrative assessment procedures,
- an in depth discussion of narrative microstructure (content and form),
- an in depth discussion of narrative macrostructure (use),
- word finding related to story retelling,
- perspective taking as it relates to narratives,
- narrative ages and stages,
- writing measurable narrative goals,
- 8 easy to read appendices,
- FREE resources!

What I love most about this pack are:
* the exhaustive list of areas that story telling encompasses (I have to admit, I hadn't really thought of all of the areas that this packet mentions!),
* specific definitions of the types of narratives,
* the extensive list of narrative assessments,
* the microstructure vs. macrostructure explanations,
* a discussion of word finding as it relates to story retelling,
* the explanation of perspective taking, and the narrative ages and stages (for real - this graph/explanation alone is worth getting the packet for!)

If you'd like to check out this fantastic product, you can do so HERE!

Tatyana also reviewed my "Robot Phonological Awareness" pack and "Common Core Based Language Assessment". You can find her review HERE. If you'd like a chance to win "Robot Phonological Awareness", enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below! Tatyana will also be doing a giveaway of her Vocabulary Development resource, so check out her blog to enter!

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{Review} Speech File Folder Games by Perkilou Products

I'm so excited to share products with you by Dina at Perkilou Products!!  Dina offers an awesome variety of products and also includes a bunch of freebies at her website!

Over the last few days, I have been using her "Set of 6 File Folder Games", which is a fantastic product!  This product includes:

24 "go together" picture pairs, where students find two items that go together and can then state "how" the two items go together,

20 irregular past tense verb picture pairs, where the student finds the irregular plural card to match with the singular noun card,

24 opposites picture pairs, where the student finds a card that is the opposite of one of the items shown on the file folder,

24 regular past tense verb picture pairs, where the student finds the regular plural card to match with the singular noun card,

96 picture cards with 8 categories to sort them into.

What I love most about this product:
- there are so many goal areas that are targeted in this easy to use pack!
- each file folder game includes at least 20 pairs of words!
- the picture cues help non-readers become more independent with the activity!

At $6.99, this product is a great addition to any therapy room!  You can find this wonderful product HERE!  Dina also has a bunch of great freebies on her website as well that you can access HERE!  You can also follow Perikou Products on facebook!

{Review} TpT Products by The Queen's Speech and a Giveaway!

I'm so excited to be bring you a review of three great products by The Queen's Speech!

First up, is Snail Sentence Repetition {Long Version}.

This 21-page activity includes:
- 2 pre/post test pages (which are great for collecting baseline data!),
- 13 "Snail Trail" practice pages
- 20 sentences at each level to repeat verbatim (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 words)

What I Love About This Activity:
- The range - This activity includes 20 sentences at 10 different levels!!
- Data tracking - We used the "Snail Trail" sheets to track progress.  One student was green and red and the other was blue and orange.  If the students repeated the sentence correctly, they put a blue or green chip on the circle spot.  If they produced the sentence incorrectly, they put an orange or red chip on the circle spot.  This is just one more way that this great product can be used!
- The graphics - These super spring-y graphics go right along with my snail theme!
- The price!  At only $2.00, this product is a great value!

Next up, is Speech-Language Therapy Objective Binder.

What a creative and useful product!  This wonderful material allows students, co-workers, administrators, etc to know that the therapy objective is for the day in this easy to use activity!  This product includes objective pages for:
- artic
- fluency
- voice
- social skills
- asking/answering questions
- following directions
- retelling stories
- pronouns
- plurals
- verb tenses
- vocab
- progress reports
- life skills
- figurative language usage
- organizing writing
- defining words

Here is an example of a few of the sheets that are included.

What I Love About This Product:
- It's so simple, yet so useful!
- It reminds students what "mastery" looks like.
- The price - At $2.00, this product is one that you just shouldn't be without!

Last, but certainly not least is Summer Sea Creatures {Language Pack}!

This "catch all" pack includes:

- 50 directions to follow related to the pictures on the page,

16 regular past tense verb fill-in-the-blank sentences,

16 irregular past tense verb fill-in-the-blank sentences,

15 fact or opinion sentences and 15 answer cards,

42 sentence correction cards,

13 "who am I cards" with a description of an animal and 13 answer cards,

1 sea creature board game,

2 sea creature die!!

What I Love About This Product:
- Versatility - I can find a use for this product in just about every one of my 1st - 5th grade language groups!
- The amount of cards for each area targeted
- The answer cards that go with the "who am I" cards and the "fact or opinion" cards
- The price - At $3.00, this product is so worth the "investment"!

If you love these products just as much as I did, you can check out more from The Queen's Speech at her TpT store, blog, or "like" her on facebook!

Want a chance to win "Snail Sentence Repetition" or "Take a Lick: Past, Present, and Future Popsicles"?  Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win "Take a Lick: Past, Present, and Future Popsicles" AND hop on over to Queen's Speech to enter her giveaway for "Snail Sentence Repetition" by clicking this link!

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Review of Pocket Artic and Language Forest

Here are two more great apps by Pocket SLP for artic and language.

First up, is Pocket Artic!

This app includes over 1,000 stimulus cards at the word, phrase, and sentence level for 29 different phonemes!  It allows for a therapist to work with multiple students at one time and records data to monitor progress.  (Here, I just put my name in, but there is no limit to the amount of students that you can add!)

Work on just one sound at a time or multiple sounds by tapping the sounds that the student is currently working on!

The slide below shows the screen that each picture card and word is present on.  The left side of the screen

allows for repetition of the verbally presentation of the word.  Students can also record their production of the word, phrase, or sentence in order to provide them with auditory feedback.  It also gives an opportunity to track correct vs. incorrect responses and also includes a yellow button for approximate responses.  The bar at the bottom is without a doubt my favorite part of the app.  Within the set of flashcards, you can switch from the initial, medial, and final positions or mix the flashcards.  You can also switch between the "word", "phrase", or "sentence" level which makes catering to each student's needs easy and efficient!

Last but not least, this app makes tracking data easy and even indicates which words the student said correctly and which ones need a bit more work.

What I love about this app:

* It's thorough: This app covers every different sound and even breaks up the /r/ sound into 9 different sound categories.

* Different levels: Easily switch between words, phrases, and sounds, depending on what each student is working on.

* Pictures: The picture cards are great for younger students and allows them to be more independent.

* Recordability: (Yes, I just made up my own word!) Students can record their own words, phrases, and sentences to critique their productions.

What I would add to this app:

* /s/-blends broken up into specific clusters (e.g. /sm/, /sn/, /sk/, etc)

You can find this wonderful app for $9.99 through iTunes or at Pocket SLP's website.

Last but definitely not least is Language Tree.

This app is awesome for language students working on a variety of goals.  It offers picture flashcards for: associations, categories, describing, texture, emotions, functions, guess the word, if...then statements, color naming, shape naming, transportation naming, root words, synonyms, and wh-questions.  Text-only flashcards are provided for: adjectives, definitions, irregular past tense verbs, and opposites.  In all, this app comes with over 50 decks and over 1,300 cards!

Because there is so much variety, I would definitely suggest hitting up "tutorials" under the "info" tab first to understand how the app works, so that you can get the most use out of it.  The instructions in the tutorial sections are short, but easy to follow.  Here's an example of the association cards.  This is the "study" section, where data isn't necessarily recorded, but the "quiz" section allows for easy recording of correct, incorrect, or approximate responses.

Simply tap the "flip" icon at the bottom of the screen to see the correct answer to the prompt.

This app also allows you to record specific data and notice certain questions/prompts that may be difficult for your students.

What I love about this app:

* It's thorough: This app touches upon so many of the goals that my students are currently working on and I can use it with a variety of groups.  I think you'll agree!

* Data collection: Not only does this app allow for data collection, it also points out specific flashcards that were difficult for the student. 

* Versatility: This app can be used for a wide range of grade levels.  I used it with kindergarteners working on the function of objects all the way up to 5th graders working on understanding emotions.

What I would add to this app:

* It would be great if the answer cards also had picture cues on them.

This app is currently $3.99 and can be found on iTunes or at Pocket SLP's website.

I hope that you might find these great apps useful in your therapy room!

Disclosure statement: WordNerdSpeechTeach was provided with a copy of these apps for review.  No other compensation was provided.

Describe It App Review

Here is a review of yet another great app by Pocket SLP, called Describe It!

This app provides children with a great opportunity to learn how to describe items in seven different categories using taste, touch, function, sight, hearing, smell, and category!  Three different "games" are included in this app, that differentiates for varying levels of proficiency.  It provides tons of support for students who are just learning how to describe, but also allows for the assistance to be decreased as well.

This app provides a short, but efficient tutorial that makes getting started easy!  The tutorial provides the purpose of the app as well as a quick description of each activity.

Study
I used this feature of the app for a group of younger students that need a little bit more support in their understanding and usage of attributes.  They passed that app back and forth, pointed to a "describing category", tried to guess the right answer, and then tapped the icon to see if they were correct.

Pass It

This game really gets the competitive juices flowing!  This feature is very similar to "Catch Phrase".  It allows students to break into two teams and describe objects to their teammates while the clock is ticking.  The team that is not caught with the iPad when the time runs out is the winner.  As with "study", students are provided with the "describing categories" at the bottom of the screen in case they are stuck and need a little bit of help.

Guess It

This feature of the app gives clues about a specific item, while the students get to guess the item being described.  This game is really neat because it's almost like "describing in reverse".  It provides examples of how to describe and shows students that they must be specific with their descriptions, while providing multiple clues when describing their own objects.

What I Love About This App:

- Versatility: I used this app with Kindergarteners all the way up to 5th graders.  Each student was able to work at their own level.

- Large amount of stimulus cards to choose from which means that this app can be used over and over.

- "Describing Categories" icons:  These icons are simple, yet self explanatory and easy for students of all ages to understand.

What I Would Add To This App:

- I'd love to see more "describing categories" such as where the object is found, parts, etc.

This is another great app by Pocket SLP!  At $6.99, it's a fantastic addition to any SLP's arsenal when working on describing with attributes.  You can find out more about this app through iTunes or at Pocket SLP's website.  

Thanks for reading about another useful app!